Perfect Chocolate Buttercream

Perfect Chocolate Buttercream – Super silky and smooth chocolate buttercream.

This chocolate buttercream is not overly chocolatey or sweet. It is light, silky and smooth and whips up super fast. Perfect on top of cupcakes and cakes!

How to Make Perfect Chocolate Buttercream

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until fluffy and well dispersed throughout the bowl.

With the mixer on low, slowly add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all the powdered sugar is added, add sifted cocoa powder. Sifting the cocoa powder is very important as it sometimes clumps together after sitting in a container for a while. 

Next, add the heavy cream and vanilla. Mix on low until the cream and vanilla are combined and then beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes. 

After beating on high speed, beat on low speed or by hand with a spatula for a minute or so to remove any air bubbles.

Buttercream Tips

1. Be sure that your butter is at the right temperature. Using butter that is slightly cooler than room temperature will give you a stiffer and fluffier buttercream that is perfect for piping. You should be able to press your finger into it and leave a slight indent. Your finger should not sink into the butter when you press. 
2. Whip it! I like to whip my butter with the paddle attachment for a bit on it’s own, as well as once the rest of the ingredients are added in. On it’s own, whip the butter until it is fully dispersed throughout the bowl. Once you’ve added all the ingredients, I like to really whip the buttercream on high speed for a good few minutes or so. This will give you a nice light and fluffy buttercream. 
3. Sift your powdered sugar. I find this is especially necessary if you buy your powdered sugar from bulk stores. Clumps can form after sitting for so long and if you add that straight in with your butter, the clumps will remain.
4. Use heavy whipping cream. I used to use a couple of tablespoons of milk in my buttercream. Using heavy whipping cream really does make a difference, especially when it comes to that light and fluffy texture you’re looking for. 
5. Remove the air bubbles. After whipping on high speed, your buttercream will have some air bubbles in it. To get rid of these, you can either reduce the mixer speed to low for a minute or so or beat them out by hand with a spatula. Use the spatula to fold the buttercream against the side of the bowl. 

For more buttercream tips, check out this post.

Check out my post on Piping Basic Cupcake Swirls!

Perfect Chocolate Buttercream

Recipe by Kelsey LacombeCourse: FrostingDifficulty: Easy

Servings

3

cups

Prep time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, cool

• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until fluffy and well dispersed throughout the bowl.
• With the mixer on low, slowly add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all the powdered sugar is added, add sifted cocoa powder.
• Add the heavy cream and vanilla. Mix on low until the cream and vanilla are combined and then beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes.
• After beating on high speed, beat on low speed or by hand with a spatula for a minute or so to remove any air bubbles.